Compressor for refrigerating apparatus



16, m5- semu J. J. sHivr-:LY l COMPRESSOR 'Fon `REFRIGmwxnus ArrARA'ruSFileddan. 3l, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet l 6, was f J. J'. SHIVELY cornzssonFoa 'asmmammue Awww; Filed am. :51, 1924 zsheeasszwez 2 Juanito;

Patented Oct. 6, 1925.

J' OHN J'. SHIVELY, OF BROOKVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

COMPRESSOR FOR REFRIGERATIN G APPARATUS.

Application led .Tanuary 31, 1924. Serial No. 689,710.

To all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN J. SHIVELY, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Brookville, county of Jefferson, State of Pennsylvania,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Compressors forRefrigerating Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for compressing` vapors for use inrefrigerating plants. The apparatus is suitable for use with a greatvariety of refrigerants and is a successful and eiiicient apparatus forthe purposes set forth.

The object of the present invention is to improve upon and simplifyexisting machines of this general type and to provide a practicaloperative machine without objectionable features. The present inventionhas for its object the construction and desi of a machine which issuitable for household use or for use in refrigerating plants of alltypes.' It is economical in operation and does not allow any of the gasused for refrigerating purposes to'escape.

Other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and it willbe appreciated that changes and modifications may be made within thescope of the present invention.

In designing the machine provision has been made to insure a perfectoperation of the compressing mechanism so that the cylinders will becleared upon the stroke of the pump. The valves are simple inconstruction and cannot get out of order, and are so constructed thatthey will close without noise. Means are provided to clear thecompressed gas of any oil or other forei substancewhich it may havepicked up 1n the apparatus. `Means are also obtained for maintaining thecrankk shaft housing under a artial vacuum at all times so that thegaswill not be liable to escape therefrom and so that any of therefrigerant which may find its way into the oil will boil oif and bereturned to the system. Means are also provided for sealing the point atwhich the drive shaft enters the casing.

In the drawings which show one embodiment of the invention:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section through the compressor andcondenser, the line of section being indicated by the line 1 1 of Figure2;

Figure 2 is a section on the broken line 2 2 of Figure 1;

l4 is carried a worm Figure 3 is an enlarged detail of the valvemechanism;

Figure 4 is a section through the discharge port for the compressed gason the line 4-4 of Figure 1; and

Figure 5 is a modification of the power shaft sealing means.

In the drawings, the apparatus is shown mounted upon a base or standardl upon the upper surface of which is formed the oil reservoir or crankshaft casing 2 in which there is maintained a supply of lubricating oil.At one end of the casing and spaced from the opposite wall are bearings3 and 4, respectively, which support, in ball or roller bearings, thelongitudinal crank shaft 5 on which are carried a plurality ofeccentrics or crank portions 6. They are shownas three in number andspaced at 120 about the shaft, but the number and spacing may be changedto suit particular requirements. as will be understood. I

At the end of the shaft beyond the bearing gear 7 which is driven by aworm 8 on the power shaft 9. At its inner end the power shaft is seatedin a thrust bearing 10 formed in the wall of the casing 2. The wall ofthe casin is formed with an elongated bearing 11 1n which is situated asleeve 12 through which the power shaft passes. Near the outerend of thesleeve is a packin 13 and over the packing is placed a sli irgnlug 14.Exteriorly of the sleeve is provi e 15 which is kept suppliedrwith oil.The oil flows around the shaft and affords an eRective seal for theshaft bearing. A spring 16 surrounds the shaft and bears against theplugs 14 and 18. The shaft 9 passes out of the reservoir through asimilar packing 17 held between plugs 18 and adJusted and .maintainedunder pressure by a screw threaded cap 19-on the outer end of thebearing, the cap serving to place the spring 16 under compression. Theshaft is driven by ythe motor 20`through any suitable yieldingconnection 21.

In the form of the invention shown in Figure 2, the oil reservoir l5 issupplied with oil from the crank case through a passage 22 which isprovided with a check valve 23 and with an adjustable needle valve 24.The height of the oil in the reservoir is indicated by thel float 25. Itwill be observed that an oil seal is provided between the packings13 and17 underatmospheric a supplementary reservoir pressure. The manner inwhich the oil is forced from the crank case to the reservoir will beexplained in a later portion of the specification.

. Over the casing 2 is located the cylinder block 25a in which arelocated the several cylinders 26. Each cylinder houses a piston27'operated-from the crank shaft or eccentric 6. As each piston reachesthe lower limit of its stroke it uncovers a port 28 which is suppliedwith the refrigerant through a manifold 29 which in turn receives itssupply from a coupling 30, one side of .which is connected with thesupply pipe 31. From ythe coupling 30 extends a by-pass 32 whichterminates in a restricted opening 33 leading to an enlarged duct 34into the upper portion of the crank case. rlfhe purpose of thisconstruction is to maintainy a partial vacuum within the crank casewhich is accomplished by reason of the fact that the passage 34 is incommunication with the intake side of the pump. rlllhe orifice 33 issmall so that when pressure is supplied to the crank case the escapethereof through this opening will be very slow. It is of suficient size,however, to maintain the partial vacuum within the crank case and toreturn to the system gases finding their way into the crank case. Thepartial vacuum within the crank case induces the boiling out of anyrefrigerant which may be carried into the oil. A further object inproviding the small orifice 33 is to prevent any very sudden drop inpressure in the crank case which might cause a violent boiling off of'fluid with the possible drawing up of any lubricant into the intakepassageways of the pump and to secure a complete elimination of the oilfrom the slowly moving'vapor as it ascends through the passage 34.

Surmounting the cylinder block is the head 36 in which is located thedischarge passage from the pump and the valves .for the cylinders. Eachvalve is preferably in the form of a circular pla-te37, which, when thepistons are withdrawn, rests upon a flange 38 around the top of thecylinder. The valve is guided in its movement by a stem 39 whichreciprocates in a vertical guide 40 depending from the head. A coilspring 41 surrounds the guide and holds the valve down upon its flange.The mechanism is so arranged that as the piston reaches the upper limitof its stroke it passes beyond the upper end of the cylinder so as toclear it of all refrigerant. At the same time it contacts the valveplate and lowers it to its seat. In this manner noise of the valve iseliminated. It will be observed in addition, that the valve mecha-nismis very simple and cannot .get out of order.

rlhe head 36 discharges into a separating chamber at one end thereof.This chamber is designated by the numeral 43 and the passage from thehead is so arranged that the gases pass into the chamber at-a tangent.This result may be obtained in various ways, there being shown atransverse wall 44 so that the opening into the chamber is tangentialthereto.

The chamber 43 is in the forni of a cylinder and as the compressed gasesare discharged into it tangentially, they are given centrifugal movementwhich causes the heavier oil to be separated from them and be depositedin the catch basin 45 at the base of the chamber. From the catch basinthe oil is returned to the crank case through a by-pass 46. In theby-pass 46 is located a needle valve 47. When it is desired to force oilfrom the crank case to the sealing reservoir 15. the valves 47 and 24are opened and the pressure from the pump will force the oil through thepassage 22 into the reservoir.

The compressed gas, freed by the separator 46 of any oil or foreignsubstance which it might carry over, passes through a pipe 48, in whichis located the check valve 49 to the condenser 50. This condenser is inthe form of a vertical cylinder closed at its upper end by a removablecover 51. Depending' from the cover 51 is the cooling coil 52 whichcondenses the 'compressed gas so that it collects in liquid form in thebottom of the condenser from which it is drawn through the pipe 53 tothe usual expansion valve and brine tank or other cooling system andbeing returned in gaseous form through pipe 31.

It will be observed that the condenser coil is supported by Yandtherefore may be removed with the cover for cleaning and re-v pairpurposes. A by-pass 54 connected to the coil above the cover by acoupling 55 leads to the cooling jacket 56 for the pump.

As a substitute for the system by which the oil is supplied from thecrank case by pressure, the arrangement shown in Figure 5 may be used.lin this form of the invention a small pump 58 having a ball valve 61and operated by an eccentric on the shaft 5, is situated within thecrank case below7 the oil level. rllhe pump delivers oil to the pipe 59which discharges in the reservoir 15. A float valve 60 controls the flowof oil into the reservoir and a second float 62 may be mountedv in thetop of the reservoir. The pump 58 is operating during the entire workingof theJ apparatus. A fall in the level of the oil in reservoir 15 lowersthe float 60, which permits the valve to seat and starts the pumpdrawing oil from the crank case and forcing it past the float valve andinto the reservoir. When the oil rises in the reservoir the float valvewill rise and the pump will no longer draw oil from the crank case, andin this manner a constant level of the sealing oil will be maintained.

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Pressure gages 65 and 66 may be mounted respectively.

It is believed that no extended description of the operation of thisapparatus is necessary at' this point. The refrigerant passes into 1thepump by the port 28, is compressed between the pistons and the valvesand passes .out through the separator 43 where any oil is extracted bythe` centrifugal action of the gas. Thel compressed gasA ows into thecondenser and is there conl densed to liquid form for circulation to thepoint of refrigeration. The crank case is maintained under partialvacuumY by the apparatus itself, which serves to prevent escape of therefrigerant. lThe drive shaft is sealed by the oil in the reservoir,which may be supplied as has been described. The device is closelysealed and gasketed at all other points so that it is leak-proof. Thecondenser is .simple and easily -cleaned and kept in repair. f i

It is obvious that other advantages are obtained as will be known tothose skilled in the art and .the invention is entitled to a fair scopeWithin the meaning of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a refrigerating device a pump, a crank case therefor, and meansconnected with the intake for the pump for maintaining the ,crank caseunder reduced pressure, said means comprising an enlarged ductcommunicating with the crank case and a restricted orifice at' the upperend of said l duct. s v l 2. In a refrigerating device, a pump, a crankcase therefor, an enlarged by-pass from the interior of the crank` caseto the inlet for the pump whereby the crank case is maintained underreduced pressure, and a reduced fixed' orice near the inlet endofvsaidby-pass to prevent passage of oil from the crank case tothe intake.v v

3. In a refrigerating apparatus, a multi le cylinder compression pump,acrank case or said pump, .a head into` which compressed gas isdischarged, a chamber'leading from said head, and apassage tangential tosaid chamber for discharge of the compressed gas to the chamber'.` v y4. In a refrigerating apparatus, a-com pression pump, a crankcase forsaid pump adapted to contain lubricating oil, a chamber, a passagetangential t9 the chamber for discharge of the compressed gas thereto, acollecting basin at the bottom of said chamf ber, and a by-pass fromsaid basin to the interior of the crank case. l,

, ,5. In a refrigerating apparatus, a compression pump, a crank case forsaid pump adapted to contain lubricatingv oil, achamber, a pass etangential to the chamber for discharge d? the compressed gas thereto, a

collecting basin at the bottom of said chamber, a by-pass from saidbasin to the-interior of the crank case, and a valve in sald

